Friday, January 21, 2011

I hope this information is useful for all that need information in auto insurance. We know in life there is no certainty like this presence gives hope to guarantee insurance for all the assets we have.

Auto Insurance 101: What You Need to KnowNobody ever thinks it's going to happen to them. But the simple fact is that a car accident happens every 18 seconds in the United States. Even the most careful drivers can find themselves involved in one.

You cannot predict the future, but you can be prepared with auto insurance for the vehicles in your household.

In most states, it is mandatory that drivers have auto insurance, which is why it's important to find out your state's minimum requirements. But many drivers choose more than the minimum coverage requirements in order to protect themselves to a greater degree.

What is Auto Insurance?
Simply put, auto insurance is a safety net. It is a contract that you have with an insurance company in which you agree to pay a premium, and in the event of an accident, the company agrees to pay for your covered damages, as outlined in your specific insurance auto policy.

It is important to familiarize yourself with the terms 'premium' and 'deductible' when shopping for auto insurance.

An insurance premium is the amount of money your insurance company charges you for a certain policy.

Your deductible is the amount of money that you are responsible for paying when damages occur as the result of an accident. For example, if you have $500 in damages as the result of an accident and a $100 deductible on your auto policy, you are responsible for paying $100 of the total damages.

If you are responsible for causing an accident or damage to other vehicles, your insurance generally covers the costs of repairs, legal fees and medical coverage for those who suffered injuries in the accident. Insurance policies also cover costs incurred when your car is stolen or vandalized.

Types of Auto Insurance Coverage
Generally, auto policies include several different types of coverage, all of which may be priced differently. For instance, insurance may cover:

Bodily Injury Liability. This type of coverage pays for medical bills, lost wages or income, pain and suffering, and even funeral expenses for those injured in an accident where you were legally responsible for their injuries. This coverage also pays for the legal and court costs to defend you in a covered lawsuit. This type of coverage is required in most states.

Property Damage Liability. If you are responsible for causing an accident, you are legally held responsible for repairs to another person’s vehicle or property. Property damage coverage not only covers the cost to repair the other person’s car, but it also covers repair costs of anything you hit with your vehicle, such as a street lamp, fence or building. This type of coverage is required in most states.

Collision. This type of auto insurance coverage pays for damage to your car as the result of a collision with another vehicle. Even if you are at fault for causing an accident, this type of coverage will reimburse you for the cost of fixing your car once you have paid the out-of-pocket deductible amount. If you are not at fault, your insurance company can seek reimbursement from another driver to cover the cost of repairs to your vehicle. Collision coverage is optional in all states. However, if your automobile is financed, your bank or lending institution will require you to have this coverage.

Comprehensive. This coverage protects you for losses due to hazards not caused by a collision with another vehicle. This includes damages that are the result of theft, vandalism, fires, falling objects, earthquakes and storms, or contact with animals, such as deer. Comprehensive coverage is optional in all states. Though, like Collision coverage, if your vehicle is financed, your bank or lending institution will require you to have this coverage.

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage. This policy protects you and other passengers in your automobile if you are injured in an accident by a motorist who is uninsured and held legally responsible for your injuries. It pays the medical expenses and related expenses you have incurred up to the coverage limits you select.

Auto insurance exists to protect you and your property. So be prepared by making sure that your vehicle is properly insured. Because the simple fact is - accidents do happen.

Finnaly:

Getting an Auto Insurance Quote is easy

It's easy to get a free auto insurance quote and even buy a policy if you like what you see - all online at 21st.com.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

After reading anoncment form official site Ford, the 2012 Focus Electric is gas-free, with zero CO2 emissions.

Go Just About Anywhere – Guilt-Free

The new Focus Electric runs exclusively on electricity stored in powerful, state-of-the-art batteries, which means it never needs a drop of gas. It comes with a unique instrument panel that helps you closely monitor your energy consumption when you drive, to make sure you get the most miles, and fun, out of every charge.

All-Electric

The Focus Electric gets all of its power from an advanced high-voltage lithium-ion battery system, which means you'll never need a drop of gas. Its electric motor is designed to help reduce energy loss and heat generation, while reducing your carbon footprint.

Single-Speed Transmission

The single-speed transmission is built specifically to handle the high rpm range that comes with an all-electric motor. It not only helps give you a quiet, energy-efficient ride, but also delivers quick responsiveness, smooth acceleration and no-compromise driving fun.

Competitive MPG

The Focus Electric will offer an mpg equivalent competitive with other electric vehicles on the market.* It comes with a suite of advanced driver information technology to help you better manage your energy consumption and get the most miles out of every charge.

*Based on Ford preliminary testing. Class is Small Electric Cars.

Advanced Battery System

The Focus Electric is powered by a 23 kwh high-voltage, lightweight lithium-ion battery system. It uses an advanced active liquid cooling and heating process to regulate battery temperature and help maximize battery life, so you can get the most miles out of each charge.

Mapquest Custom Routes

Ford collaborated with Mapquest to provide custom routes. With features such as "Can I Get There?" and EcoRoute, you'll have the confidence of always knowing how far you're capable of going at existing charge levels and the most economical way to get there. You can also locate the nearest charging stations and get destination info sent right to your car through MapQuest.

Electric Vehicle App for Your Smartphone

This unique mobile app from Ford lets you monitor and schedule the charging of your Focus Electric from anywhere, to help you maximize your range. It gives you remote charging status updates, so you can check existing charge levels and available range, while keeping track of your charge schedule. It also provides you with the location of your vehicle, where you can find the nearest charging stations and the most efficient route to get there. The app also estimates the amount of CO2 emissions and money you save based on your driving style - to help you manage costs and improve your efficiency.

Customizable Screens
SYNC® with MyFord Touch™ technology in the Focus Electric gives you the same great connectivity - to your music, navigation and favorite devices - that you get in other Ford vehicles, while offering a unique level of customization. Using the five-way buttons on the steering wheel, you can customize your view in the two 4.2-inch LCD instrument cluster screens to show your battery charge status, distance to the next charging station and more. This information helps you keep track of how you drive, so you can make adjustments to maximize your range and efficiency.

240-Volt Charging Station

To charge the high-voltage, lithium-ion batteries of the Focus Electric more quickly, you can have an optional 240-volt charging station installed. It gives you a full charge in approximately 3 to 4 hours. Focus Electric also comes with a standard 120-volt convenience cord, which allows you to charge the batteries in your own garage, using a standard 120-volt household outlet.

Brake Coach

This feature, found in the instrument cluster screen, helps you optimize the use of the car's regenerative brakes. It displays a graphic that shows the amount of energy captured each time you stop, so you can make adjustments to help maximize your range.

Regenerative Braking

This remarkable technology helps you achieve maximum energy-efficiency. It captures more than 90 percent of the energy normally lost as heat during braking, and recycles it to recharge the battery.

MyKey™ Technology

MyKey™ lets you assign separate keys for additional drivers. It's designed to help parents encourage teenagers to drive responsibly, by programming certain limits such as restricting top vehicle speed to 80 mph or stereo volume to 44 percent of max volume. You can also set the key to give a warning chime when the car's battery life is starting to get low. And because each key is programmed differently, MyKey™ allows you and any other drivers in your family to customize your own MyFord Touch screens and vehicle settings, without having to worry about the next driver making changes to them.

Intelligent Access with Push-Button Start
You don't even have to have the keyfob in your hand to unlock or start your car. It can be in your pocket, your handbag, anywhere on you. And once you're in, you don't need to dig it out. Simply press the button to start the vehicle and you're on your way.

Sony® Audio System with HD Radio™

The Focus Electric offers a quiet ride, unless, of course, you don't want it to be quiet. With a standard Sony® Audio System, nine speakers and HD Radio™, you can enjoy listening to crystal-clear digital audio and high-quality sound as loud as you want. You also get the convenience of iTunes® tagging.* If you hear a song playing on HD Radio that you like, simply press the Tag button. The song info will be transferred to your iPod® the next time you plug it in your car, so you can purchase it later from the iTunes® store.

*Sony is a registered trademark of Sony Corporation. iPod and iTunes are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. All rights reserved.

Sirius® Satellite Radio

Focus Electric owners can enjoy a six-month trial subscription to more than 130 channels, including 100 percent commercial-free music, plus the best in sports, news, talk and entertainment, 24/7.*

*Service available in the 48 contiguous states and DC. Sirius, XM and all related marks and logos are trademarks of Sirius XM Radio Inc. Subscriptions governed by Sirius Terms and Conditions available at sirius.com, and sold separately after complimentary trial period.

Eco-Friendly Seats

The standard innovative Earth-friendly cloth seat fabric in Focus Electric is made from 100 percent post-industrial materials - polyester fibers that would have ended up in landfills otherwise. The cushions also use a bio-based polyurethane foam derived from the oils of various plant seeds such as soybeans.

Efficient Navigation

The MyFord Touch™ map-based navigation system inside Focus Electric can help you calculate the routes that give you the most mileage out of each charge. Using the eight-inch touch screen or simple voice commands, you can add your driving destination along with the next planned charging station and let the system coach you on how best to achieve the desired range. The system also provides an EcoRoute option, which gives you the most energy-efficient route to your destination.

MyFord Touch™ with Unique EV Content

This emotive display in the instrument cluster provides real-time information to help you get the most efficiency from your Focus Electric. It provides a unique visual of blue butterflies on the right cluster screen, which represent the surplus range beyond the point of the next charging station. The more butterflies on the screen, the greater the surplus. In selecting this visual, Ford designers were inspired by the concept of the "butterfly effect," in which a small change can have an enormous impact. To reinforce the message, at the end of each trip the display shows information such as energy consumed vs. the amount of gasoline saved by driving electric.

Kinetic Design

The Focus Electric makes no compromises when it comes to design. It exudes energy with its athletic Z shape, so whether it's taking on highway curves or parked and charging, it always looks like it's in motion. A rear spoiler and standard 15-spoke, 17-inch aluminum wheels add a touch of style to its athletic appearance.

Illuminated Charge Port

You'll always know when your car is fully charged and ready to go. When you plug the connector cord into the Focus Electric charge port - located between the driver's door and front wheel well - it activates light rings around the port to indicate that it's connected. When the rings are flashing, that means a charge is in progress. When all rings are solidly lit, the charge is completed.

It's a sad fact of life but machines work for less than human beings. In the good old days, every machine needed a human to watch over it and make sure it did not mess up. Now all you do is plug in these new generations of clever computerised things and they can work for days and weeks without ever having to step outside to enjoy a cigarette. It's enough to make Karl Marx turn over in his grave as the workers of the world have slowly been losing the power to sell their labour. But inside every silver lining is a pig's ear, or something. If a business can operate with fewer human beings, it's making big savings that can be passed on to us, the customers. If you're still able to find work and can afford to insure your car, this is a good thing. If you're one of the replaced humans and now find yourself on the scrap heap of life, this is bitter medicine.

Automation brings reduced premium rates at two different levels depending on where the savings in labour are made. If the insurer has to employ a call centre full of people (hopefully not offshore to maintain what employment opportunities remain for local people), this is a moderately expensive operation. But if all the selling of policies is effectively automated, all the savings in labour costs can be passed on to you as discounts. For example, the Co-operative offers an 11% discount for buying online. When you add this to other features like a no-claims bonus rising to 70%, it makes them one of the cheapest companies in the insurance business.

But, the most interesting company is Swiftcover. Although set up as an independent, this is now a subsidiary of the Axa Group, selling out in 2007. It's advertised as the first company relying 100% on the internet to sell its policies and deal with claims. To a greater or lesser extent, all the other major companies have a mixed strategy depending on face-to-face sales through High Street offices, the telephone, the internet and indirect sales through agents and brokers. Through Swiftcover's website, you can buy a policy online and print out your cover note. If there are any changes to be made to the policy, this is done online. In the unhappy event of having to make a claim, you have a choice of an online process or a telephone call. This is a prize-winning company for its innovation and the cost-savings it offers. Although it now employs some 250 people in England for dealing with more than half-a-million policyholders, this is a fraction of the workforce in other major insurers.

So, when you look at the UK car insurance market, Swiftcover is leading the way in offering real competition to the established brands. Although some report its performance has dropped since it sold out to the Axa Group, this is the spur keeping the majority of companies offering cheap car insurance cover. When you're coming up for renewal, check out all the car insurance quotes coming through the search engines. If Swiftcover is not among them, get a quote direct and compare. Similarly, look for the promotional offers being made for buying direct through the internet. There are some real bargains to be made.

By information from msn.com, Your heart is beating hard, you're breathing fast and you can't believe you just got into an accident. Look around. You're alive? Good. Everyone else? Even better. Now here's what you need to do once the dust settles.

You should:

Keep your auto insurance information in the glove compartment, including a pre-printed form allowing you to provide the particulars of any accident, including a sketch of the scene. (Even better, use that disposable camera you keep in the car. You don't? You should.)

Stay at the scene of the accident until police have come and gone, making sure you have the name of the officer(s) and that they have your version of what happened. Do not assume a police report will "take you off the hook" or even that one will be generated in the event of a minor accident ("minor" may mean no one is injured even though your car suffers a direct hit).

Exchange names, addresses, driver's license and insurance information with the driver of the other car.

Review your policy to make sure of your coverage. Make a list of questions and related information you want to know.

Report the accident promptly to your insurance company. This may not seem wise or necessary to you. The accident may be minor, you may not want to risk seeing your rates rise or you may live in a no-fault state and think that the other driver's insurance company will pay for everything. But state laws generally protect you from higher rates unless an accident was your fault. And even though you may think no-fault lets you off the hook for the other driver's medical expenses, it does not. It simply says his insurance will pay for his expenses (up to the limits of his coverage), regardless of who is at fault. But rest assured his insurance company will come knocking on your insurer's door seeking repayment if it believes you were at fault in the accident. The point is, your insurer should be informed.

Think that's the end of it? Read on.

The policy
Admit it. You've never read your auto insurance policy, you don't want to read it and even if you're in an accident, you're still not sure if it would force you into those endless lines of fine print and insurance-speak. Assuming you can even find the policy.

If you can, look in the back for what are called the conditions of your policy -- what you are supposed to do in the event of an accident. These requirements are pretty straightforward, although compliance may seem like a hassle when you're already upset by the accident itself. But you may forfeit some of your rights if you don't follow these instructions.

If you don't understand, keep calling

Next, look at the cover sheet of the policy, which is called the declarations page and which lists the types and dollar limits of your coverage, including short-hand references to any discounts or special provisions you have elected to purchase.

Last, there's the actual insuring agreement itself, which explains what your insurer is protecting you against, including definitions of terms used in the agreement and explanations of what's not covered (called the exclusions).

If you don't understand your policy, keep calling your agent and/or state insurance department until you get clear answers to your questions. Most people have heard that ignorance is no defense under the law, but they don't think they'll ever have to find out. Auto accidents are one of the most common ways to discover the sobering cost of ignorance.
The payments
Hopefully, your accident involves only damages to things and not to people. And, hopefully, it wasn't your fault.

Even if it's just your car that's banged up, repairs can be a major headache. This is where the reality sets in that replacement cost is not the same thing as market value. Your car can easily be declared a total loss even though the money you'd receive is nowhere near what it would cost you to replace the vehicle.

The best advice about getting your car fixed is to remember that the money may be coming from the insurance company but you should control the repair process. This means refusing to settle for a repair job you don't like. And it may also mean refusing to accept the use of generic replacement parts instead of the original manufacturer's parts (your policy may give your insurer the right to use generic parts, so it's important to check the fine print to know your rights). Even if your favorite shop doesn't do the repairs, you can still have your mechanic look at the car (although this may be at your personal expense) and provide an assessment of what should be fixed. Ultimately, it's your car and your call about what's done to it.

Talk to your agent and/or insurer about your rights (better still, you should really ask these questions before you buy a policy). And if you don't like the answers, call your state insurance department.

Monday, January 17, 2011

The AutoWeek editorial team has named Ford Vertrek the Best Concept of the 2011 North American International Auto Show. The Vertrek concept rose above such contenders as the Mini Paceman, GMC Sierra All Terrain HD and Toyota Prius C to win the coveted award.

"Ford has been so focused on serious stuff such as small cars and fine-tuning production models that it hasn't had a lot of time to craft concepts capable of turning heads at auto shows," said the editors of AutoWeek. "Enter the Vertrek. It blends European styling with the practical needs of Americans. The best part is that Ford design boss J Mays says this concept is very close to the look of the next Escape."

Based on the global C-segment platform, Vertrek represents the vision of Ford's top design and engineering talent on how best to attract and satisfy future SUV customers around the world. "Vertrek unites stylish design, world-class craftsmanship and outstanding capability to present a fresh vision that we believe will resonate globally," said Mays.

A highly efficient new 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine from the global Ford EcoBoost™ family is underhood, giving Vertrek the power of a larger-displacement powerplant while delivering significantly better fuel economy and CO2 emissions. In Vertrek concept, this engine is mated to a new, fuel-saving Ford Auto Start-Stop technology. By 2013, 80 percent of Ford's global nameplates and 90 percent of Ford's North American nameplates will have an EcoBoost option.

The prestigious AutoWeek award comes hard on the heels of the all-new Ford Explorer being named 2011 North American Truck of the Year, the third year in a row Ford has taken this honor.

The Vertrek concept is on public display at NAIAS – along with Explorer and other award-winning Ford and Lincoln vehicles – in Detroit's Cobo Hall through Jan. 23.